GB2342624A

GB2342624A - A foldable wheeled trolley

Info

Publication number: GB2342624A
Application number: GB9822193A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Frank Lowenstein
Original assignee: MOVEASY INT Ltd
Current assignee: MOVEASY INT Ltd
Priority date: 1998-10-13
Filing date: 1998-10-13
Publication date: 2000-04-19
Anticipated expiration: 2018-10-13
Also published as: AR020804A1; CN2506052Y; GB2342624B; GB9822193D0; AU6219099A; WO2000021817A1

Abstract

A foldable wheeled trolley comprises a main body member (1, see figure 1) having telescopable handle means (7 - see figure 4) and a pair of legs (4) which are hinged by hinge means (19) to the body member (1). At a free end of each leg (4) is a wheel (9) and an arm (14) which is hinged to the leg (4) and can be moved from a stored position adjacent the leg (4) to an open position where it can carry a load. Each leg (4) is attached to slide means (18) by which the legs (4) can be moved from a stored position adjacent the body member (1) to an open position in which the legs (4) are splayed apart. Locking formations associated with each leg (4) and the body member (4) limit the extent to which the legs (4) can be splayed and releasably lock the legs (4) in the splayed apart configuration.

Description

2342624 Improvements in and relating to foldable wheeled trolleys This

invention relates to foldable wheeled trolleys, such as luggage trolleys, having telescopable handle means and having arms which can be opened out for carrying items of luggage.

According to the first aspect of the invention there is provided a foldable wheeled trolley comprising a main body member having telescopable handle means at or adjacent an upper end and a pair of legs, each being hinged to respective sides of the body member and being adapted to be moveable from a stored position adjacent the support member to an open position in which the free ends of the legs can then be splayed apart via the hinge means at the lower end of the body member, a wheel mounted for rotation at the free end of each leg, and a pair of arms, each being hinged at one end to the free end of respective leg and being moveable from a stored position adjacent to the leg to an open position substantially at right angles to the plane of hinged movement of the legs, in which position the arms are able to support an item to be carried, such as luggage, characterised in that each leg is connected to associated slide means by which each leg may be stored adjacent to the body member in a closed position and may be slid outwards from the stored position to an open position with the legs splayed apart for use, in which position locking formations associated wi th each leg and the body member limit the extent to which the legs may be splayed apart and releasably lock the legs in their splayed apart configuration.

Preferably, the slide means is mounted on guide means disposed i substantially centrally within the main body member and is of length corresponding to the length of each leg such that, in use, each leg may be stored in substantially parallel relationship to the guide means. The guide means may comprise an elongated tube around the outer circumference of which is disposed the slide means, with the tube being adapted to receive one or more telescopic sections of handle means, the free end of one of which is provided with a handle for towing the wheeled trolley when the legs are in an open position.

The locking formations associated with the body member are conveniently disposed at the lower end of the body member and extend substantially at right angles to the a-,ds of sliding movement of the slide means to thereby act as a stop member therefor and co-operate therewith to limit the extent to which the legs may be splayed apart.

According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a wheeled trolley characterised in that the ends of the legs remote from the wheels are also provided with formations co-operable with opposing sides of the main body portion to thereby provide complementary locking means to the locking formations associated with the slide means.

According tQ a third aspect of the invention there is provided a foldable wheeled trolley of the type including telescopable handle means composed of a plurality of telescopable members characterised in that locking means are provided between each telescopable member of the ball and detent type, in which adjacent telescopable members are releasably locked together when a ball is forced to assume a position generally within -3 bores at respective ends of adjoining telescopable members in response to lateral pressure relative to the major axis of the handle means, the lateral pressure being provided by a spring biased detent plunger slidably mounted within the smaller of adjacent pairs of telescopable members which is deactivated by opposing axial movement to compress the spring and thereby release the ball into the detent and unlock the telescopable members.

The invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows a front view of a foldable trolley according to the invention, Figure 2 shows a rear view of the trolley of Figure 1, Figure 3 shows a side view of the trolley of Figure 1, Figure 4 shows a front view of the trolley of Figure I shown partially opened, Figure 5 shows a side view of the trolley of Figure I shown partially opened, Figure 6 shows a fi7ont view of the trolley of Figure I shown fully opened, Figures 7a and 7b are detailed views corTesponding to part of Figure 4 and showing the mechanism by which the legs of the trolley may be locked in a splayed-apart configuration, and Figures 8- 10 are part sectional views of the locking mechanism disposed between adjacent telescopable members of the handle means in accordance with the second aspect of the invention.

-4 Referring firstly to Figures 1-3 there is shown a foldable wheeled trolley in its folded state, the trolley comprising a main body portion I having a front plate 2 (shown in Figure 1) and a rear plate 3 (shown in Figure 2) which are spaced apart ftom each other to define a hollow housing for partially receiving in the folded configuration shown each of a pair of legs 4 disposed in substantially parallel relationship to each other.

The main body portion I has an upper end shown generally at 5 and a lower end shown generally at 6. Adjacent the upper end 5 is a foldable handle 7 which is hinged to a handle support member 8 (shown in Figures 2 and 3) secured to the free end of centrally disposed guide means in the form of a tube in a manner described below with reference to Figures 7a and 7b.

Adjacent the lower end 6 of the main body portion I are a pair of wheels 9 each mounted for rotation at the free end of the legs 4 with their respective axes of rotation off-set when the legs 4 are substantially parallel to each other, as shown in the drawings. As shown in Figures 2 and 3, on the rear plate 3 of the main body portion I there protrudes a double-ended hooked bracket 10 around which may be wound an elastomeric cord (not shown) or similar means of attaching luggage etc. to the wheeled trolley when in its open state and, similarly, depending from the handle support member 8 is a- buckle I I which may serve as an anchor point for, typically, a hooked end of such an elastomeric cord.

Turning now to Figures 4 and 5, the wheeled trolley in accordance with this embodiment of the invention is shown in a part-opened state in which the handle 7 has been swivelled to an upright position such that its major plane is substantially parallel to the major plane of the rear plate 3, but slightly offset therefrom, and the handle support member 8 is shown mounted on the free end of a telescopable tube 12a. An actuating button 13 permits the release from locking of telescopable member 12a when fully extended in a manner to be described with reference to Figures 8 to 10.

The legs 4 are shown splayed apart for use, in which position the wheels 9 have axes of rotation which are co-incident i.e. the wheels are substantially parallel to each other and, as can be seen more clearly with reference to Figure 5, a pair of spring biased arms 14 stored away in correspondingly shaped channels 15 in each leg 4 become released and assume a position substantially at right angles to the plane of swivelling movement of the legs 4, in which position the arms 14 are able to carry items of luggage etc.

In Figure 6 the wheeled trolley is shown fully extended with telescopable members 12a, 12b and 12c being releasably locked in position by means of detent balls 16 in a manner to be described more fully with reference to Figures 8 to 10.

It will be apparent thus far that the legs 4 require some means by which they are prevented from being splayed out further than is shown in Figure 6 and this is achieved by means of a locking mechanism more fully described with reference to Figures 7a and 7b, Figure 7a being a detailed view of the lower part of the trolley with the front plate 2 removed and with the arms 14 still within their channels 15, although it will be apparent that because they are spring-biased then without any form of restraint they would -6 ordinarily assume the position shown in Figure 5.

Figure 7b is a part-sectional cut out detailed view from the direction "N' shown in Figure 7a and in which it will be seen that a generally T-shaped end cap 17 plugs into and closes the lower end of guide means in the form of an aluminium tube 12d running substantially along the whole length of the back plate 3 and secured thereto in a slightly raised position, thereby permitting a correspondingly shaped sleeve 18 to be slideable substantially along its entire length. In the position shown in Figure 7a it will be apparent that the sleeve 18 is in its most extreme position next to the end cap l7and from that position can only move upwardly.

On either side of the sleeve 18 are hinged the legs 4 at the end remote from the wheels 9 via respective hinge pins 19 so that when the sleeve 18 is in the position shown in Figure 7a it will be apparent that the extent to which the legs 4 may be splayed apart is limited by the inside of each leg adjacent the hinge pin 19 bearing against, respectively, outer surfaces of the sleeve 18 and out edges 17a of the T- shaped end cap 17.

In order to prevent inward splaying of the legs 4 a spring-biased catch member 20 is secured to the end of each leg 4 and is urged by means of a coil spring 21 (shown in dotted outline in Figure 7a) to move in a generally upward direction as shown in Figure 7b. A sloping ear portion 22 of the catch member 20 is received within a slot 23 shaped to permit the ear portion 22 to catch behind the corresponding ear portions 17a of the T-shaped end cap 17 so that, in the position shown in Figure 7b, the leg 4 is then -7 releasably locked in place and cannot splay outwardly or inwardly. However, it will be apparent that because the slot 23 is relatively deep, downward movement of the catch 20 to compress the spring 21 will release the leg to allow it to be splayed inwardly to assume eventually a parallel relationship with respect of the other leg when they are both stored away after use. This can be easily achieved by first of all folding in both of the arms 14 in the direction shown in Figure 7b and, because each of the arms 14 have a correspondingly inclined end cap 24 to that of the locking member 20 the simple act of folding the arm 14 away into their respective channels 15 automatically deactivates the locking members 20 relative to the end cap 17 to allow the legs to be returned to their stored position as shown in Figures 1-3.

Turning now to Figures 8 to 10, a second embodiment of the invention is described in which, for clarity, adjacent sections of telescopable members 12a and 12b are shown part-cut out and shortened as to length.

Figure 8 is a front view of primarily the junction between telescopable members 12a and 12b but also shows the free end of telescopable member 12a including the handle 7 and handle support 8, which also acts as an end cap for the tubular telescopable member 12a and through which protrudes the activating button 13.

The lower end of the activating button 13 is fixed to a plunger rod 25 which abuts at its other end a detent plunger 26 slideably received within the inner bore of the telescopable member 12a. The lower end of the telescopable member 12a is closed by means of a flanged end cap 27 on the inside of which relative to the telescopable member 12a is a circular slot for receiving a coil spring 28 which thereby urges the detent plunger 26 upwardly relative to the orientation of the drawing to the limit imposed by the flanged activating button 13.

The detent plunger 26 has a detent 29 on one face thereof, shown more clearly with reference to Figures 9 and 10, for receiving a steel ball 3 0 which, in turn, can be received by and within a correspondingly shaped bore 31 near to the lower end of the telescopable member 12a and a slightly smaller bore 32 near to the upper end of the telescopable member 12b so that, in the position shown in Figure 9, when the detent plunger 26 is urged upwards by the spring 28 the ball 30 normally rests within the bores 31, 32 to prevent sliding or telescoping movement of the telescopable member 12a relative to member 12b. This ball and detent locking assembly can be deactivated by downward axial compression of the plunger rod 25, via the activating button 13, until the detent plunger 26 assumes the position shown in Figure 10, in which position the detent ball 30 is in alignment with the detent 29 and subsequent downward movement of the telescopable member 12a is thereby permitted such that it can be pushed completely within the telescopable member 12b. In turn, the lower end of the telescopable member 12b (not shown) has a slightly larger detent plunger 26 which can be moved to the position shown in Figure 10 when the end cap 27 of the telescopable member 12a comes into contact with it so that successive unlocking of the telescopable members 12b and 12c is possible until the entire assembly is stored away for use in the position shown in Figures I to 3.

Although the locking means in accordance with the second aspect of the invention is particularly useful for use with a foldable wheeled trolley in accordance with the first embodiment of the invention, nevertheless, it will be understood that such can also be used in other circumstances where telescoping movement of one member relative to another is required including, without limitation, other types of wheeled trolleys, antennae, umbrellas, support structures such as legs and in other circumstances where telescopable members are required to be releasably locked in their telescoped configuration. Similarly, itwill be understood that the ball may be replaced by any other suitable locking member and the detent may be of other cammed configurations.

-10 0 0

Claims

Claim I A foldable wheeled trolley comprising a main body member having telescopable handle means at or adjacent an upper end and a pair of legs, each being hinged to respective sides of the body member and being adapted to be moveable from a stored position adjacent the support member to an open position in which the free ends of the legs can then be splayed apart via the hinge means at the lower end of the body member, a wheef mounted for rotation at the free end of each leg, and a pair of arms, each being hinged at one end to the free end of respective leg and being moveable from a stored position adjacent to the leg to an open position substantially at right angles to the plane of hinged movement of the legs, in which position the arms are able to support an item to be carried, such as luggage, characterised in that each leg is connected to associated slide means by which each leg may be stored adjacent to the body member in a closed position and may be slid outwards from the stored position to an open position with the legs splayed apart for use, in which position locking formations associated with each leg and the body member limit the extent to which the legs may be splayed apart and realeasably lock,the legs in their splayed apart configuration.
Claim 2 A foldable wheeled trolley according to Claim I further characterised in that the slide means is mounted on guide means disposed substantially centrally within the main body member and is of length corresponding to the length of each leg such that, in use, each leg may be stored in substantially parallel relationship to the guide means.
Claim 3 A trolley according to Claim 2 finther characterised in that the guide means comprises an elongated tube around the outer circumference of which is disposed the slide means, with the tube being adapted to receive one or more telescopic sections of handle means, with the tube being adapted to receive one or more telescopic sections of handle means, the free end of which is provided with a handle for towing the wheeled trolley when the legs are in an open position.
Claim 4 A trolley according to any preceding claim flinber characterised in that the locking formations associated with the body member are disposed at the lower end of the body member and extend substantially at right angles to the axis of sliding movement of the slide means to thereby act as a stop member therefor and co-operate therewith to limit the extent to which the legs may be splayed apart.
Claim 5 A wheeled trolley according to any preceding Claims further characterised in that the ends of the legs remote from the wheels are provided with formations co-operable with opposing sides of the main body portion to thereby provide complementary locking means to the locking formations associated with the slide means.
Claim 6. A foldable wheeled trolley of the type including telescopable handle means composed of a plurality of telescopable members characterised in that locking means are provided between each telescopable member of the ball and detent type, in which adjacent telescopable members are releasably locked together when a ball is forced to assume a position generally within bores at respective ends of adjoining telescopable members in response to lateral pressure relative to the major axis of the handle means, the lateral pressure being provided by a spring biased detent plunger slidably mounted within the smaller of adjacent pairs of telescopable members which is deactivated by opposing axial movement to compress the spring and thereby release the ball into the detent and unlock the telescopable'members.